Solar Install: what would you change
I’m going to do a small solar install on my 5th wheel, and I am curious what you would change about your current setup. What did you do that was wrong, not good enough or just a minor annoyance. M...
Forum Discussion
That said, this is my roof line and I’m not sure what my best positioning would be?
The best way to position solar panels is to cut a cardboard template the same size as the solar panel and position it on the roof. Observe if any shadows cover any part of the panel during the day. You want your panels to be unaffected by shadows from the AC, the roof vents, and any antennas or plumbing stacks.
If you directly fasten the panels down to any roof material that is not metal, you will lose panel output, slightly, as the panel heats during the day. Installing the panels with an airspace between the panel and the roof mitigates heat gain and improves on thermal loss, slightly. The above effects are especially noticeable with an MPPT charge controller.
From the small amount of research I've done on the "slightly" flexible solar modules, they don't seem worth the effort of bypassing a traditional installation method. The traditional bracket mounting method also makes tilting during storage times possible.
